I know having material in either 720P or 1080I on DVD would take-up a ridiculous amount of space. However, is there a "demo disc" on store shelves with, for example, 10, 20, or more minutes of video recorded in high definition?

Just wondering what my new TV looks like in high def.
No, I don't have Digital cable or satellite yet. That's in the works.

I have tried XBOX games in 720P and 1080I but because of the component cables it is still not the digital picture I'm looking for.

I'm using a DVI-to-HDMI cable from my DVD player to my TV so a DVD with a short amount of high-def footage would work.

Not DVD but there is always D-VHS, but it probably wouldn't be wise to invest in that right now.

There aren't any DVDs with true HD output at this point, except for things like that Terminator 2 disc that use WMV 9 and have to be played through a computer.

__________________"Cultshock... may your corpse be turned into a side show act for the curious and twisted." -Gandhi (banned DVDTalk member, not the Mahatma). I'm not sure, but I think he was hitting on me.

Firstly, you NEED to get some HD content from either Cable or Sat. Seriously. You want to see how good your NEW HDTV is... well, then the only way you're going to see HD on it is to get Cable or Sat or buy a DVHS Player and some DVHS movies (which I do NOT advise).

HD-DVD or BLU-RAY HD content is still AT LEAST a YEAR away so if you want to enjoy that new TV now, you know what you have to do.

The other thing I noticed was that you weren't happy with component cable quality. There are MANY different discussions/debates on how much "better" DVI is in terms of quality. I HONESTLY can say IMHO, that the difference is minute. I get my HD content through cable, and have my TV connected via component cables and seriously the picture is amazing. I've also been lucky to also see the SAME content but through the DVI port with a high quality DVI cable and I TRULY COULD NOT SEE A DIFFERENCE! So don't you go knocking component cables. Xbox games in higher res formats will never give you a TRUE made for HD picture. You need cable/sat/dvhs or eventually HD-DVD/Blu-Ray to see it.

Originally posted by excandide The other thing I noticed was that you weren't happy with component cable quality. There are MANY different discussions/debates on how much "better" DVI is in terms of quality. I HONESTLY can say IMHO, that the difference is minute. I get my HD content through cable, and have my TV connected via component cables and seriously the picture is amazing. I've also been lucky to also see the SAME content but through the DVI port with a high quality DVI cable and I TRULY COULD NOT SEE A DIFFERENCE! So don't you go knocking component cables. Xbox games in higher res formats will never give you a TRUE made for HD picture. You need cable/sat/dvhs or eventually HD-DVD/Blu-Ray to see it.

Component cables rock. DVI is OVER OVER OVER RATED

Whether you see the difference with a DVI connection or not depends largely on the type of display you have. If you have a fixed pixel display - plasma, LCD, DLP, or LCOS - the difference can be tremendous. CRT-type displays do not gain much advantage over the all digital connection.

I have an HDTV and use an Over the Air HDTV Receiver to get free local programming over the air waves using a standard antenna. I don't watch a lot of TV so getting cable wasn't for me but I find plenty to watch in HD every week. PBS broadcasts 24/7 in HD and has some great programming like Soundstage. The major networks, broadcast mosly during prime time. Fox and ABC broadcast sports in HD. Monday Night Football is awesome. ABC also broadcasts a movie in HD on Saturday night. This last week, they ran Monsters Inc. and it look positively incredible.

I picked up my open box Samsung SIR-T351 HDTV receiver for $99 about 4 months ago at Best Buy when they were blowing them out. Look around, they may still have some left. It is a great way to get some HD programming for relatively cheap, provided you are behind a mountain or something.

I just got an HD set myself, and am so happy with the watching tv shows on hd. CSI Miami looks great with HD, I now want to hold off on buying the dvd box set to wait on the HD version. Also don't know much about 'over the air' reception for HD, and would like to research this further. Am using cable so just got 8 channels of HD, and didn't even know PBS broadcasts in HD! Glad threads like this help me better understand HD!